Why have @Africanindiaspo kids turned away from Christianity? - Part 2

This post has me feeling like Mase - welcome back, welcome back, welcome back. I am sure that if you are reading this you have read part one of the above-mentioned title. In that initial post I described how, in my opinion, hypocrisy in the home is one of the greatest stumbling blocks for @Africanindiaspo youths/children when it comes to embracing religion, more specifically Christianity, as we know it. I used Christianity as the religion of choice as that is the one that I was exposed to as a child growing up in Zimbabwe. Moving on from that; in this post I am going to give arguments for how I believe hypocrisy within churches is another determinant in the creation these 'wayward' children/youths. 

I have heard it often said that children are like sponges as they are always learning and repeating what they see around them; yet I wonder whether African Christian adults take these wise words seriously. I do not think many do as they expose their children to faux leather, faux locks and faux/hypocritical Christianity. I feel that in the same way that people would happily buy fake variations of Nike trainers if there was no known/accepted trademark tick and correct spelling of the brand, many @Africanindiaspo youths/children would happily embrace Christianity if there were no prescribed ways of living/conduct stipulated in the bible. The very same bible that African pastors are opening every Saturday/Sunday in their services (and yet living opposing lives to) is causing @Africanindiaspo children/youth to look at the religion these men and women profess with much contempt. It literally is like carrying out a campaign to raise awareness about what original Nike trainers look like and then selling fakes to these enlightened people. 

My dear brothers and sisters I do not claim to be a biblical scholar (I have not attended healing or miracle school) but I have read the book enough times to notice a few contradictions that have affected many of us who grew up believing in the message of Jesus. 

Sexual immorality
One of the main things that many youth pastors and Sunday school teachers felt was important for me to understand whilst growing up was that sex was reserved only for a husband and his wife. I am convinced that many other 'churched' young @Africanindiaspo youth/children endured the same instruction and were bombarded with bible verses to support these rules. That is not a bad thing to be encouraged to observe as a child until you grow up to realise that the same pastors/elders/deacons touting 'purity' have themselves been engaged in all sorts of sexual immorality. One particular Zimbabwean 'Pentecostal' pastoress named Bonnie Deuschle not only cheated on her husband but even had a love child from her adulterous fling. Although she did come clean to her church she still continued as the pastor of the church which in itself is a violation of two verses which are namely 1 Timothy 2 vs 12 and Titus 1 vs 6-8. These verses say that a pastor/elder should be a MAN and that the man must have no fault/bad reputation. What about Rory Alec who was enjoying the money he was making from his God TV channel before disappearing into the sunset with a Russian lady? And then there is Eddie Long who groomed three young men to be his lovers and all the countless church leaders in various African churches sleeping with other members' wives?  

Only two behaviours can emerge from children exposed to this kind of buffoonery. They will either live double lives themselves and still consider themselves holy or they will completely walk away from the farce in order to uphold some integrity with themselves which is what many seem to be doing.

Greed for money and wild miracles
In addition to the serial adulterers of today; capitalism, globalisation and materialism have paved the way for a new breed of pastors - the likes of which have never been seen before. These pastors have got so great super powers that they must dress in tailor-made suits, live in mansions, drive supercars, move with entourages and be referred to as Papas, Prophets or Apostles.

They are endowed with special access to 'God' and can grant their lucky followers the many desires of their hearts - from weight loss to phone top up to miracle money as well as deliverance from spiritual wives, children, dogs, goats, etc. They perform incredible tricks to enhance their 'credibility' too like Shepherd Bushiri who walks on air and can take spiritual photos on iPads (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nTk5xcN_dyY). However, one must be informed that in order for the god of these men to act one must sow some kind of financial seed by means of tithe, purchasing a DVD, a rubber band charm or anointing oil. As a result these men have profited tremendously off the backs of poor Africans to the point of affording private jets, super cars and mansions. Yes - @Africanindiaspo children/youth attend churches where men like Adeboye, Oyedepo, Creflo Dollar, etc. collect enough tithes and offerings from their parents to be able to fly and/or drive around in style. The very same parents who do not provide anything more that shelter and food for their children are sponsoring these cons. The poor kids see through the pretence and disapprovingly recognise the greed of these prophets as well as the falseness of their miracles when they read in the bible verses like 1 Timothy 6 vs 1-8 and Mark 13 vs 22. And since one cannot touch the anointed, one might as well walk away.

The things I have mentioned to you my dear brother/sister are just a tip of the iceberg (not the lettuce, lol). I remember I once spoke to a young @Africanindiaspo brother who told me that he could no longer attend church after attending a gathering in which people were giving offering by chip and pin. Another lady told me how over a period of time she amassed debt after being guilt-tripped into paying her tithes by credit card as she had no disposable income after paying her bills at the end of the month. And many more acquaintances have told me of how they have had loved ones die after refusing to take medication for chronic diseases which they believed they were healed from by 'men of God'.

Children see this trickery/foolishness and in a world in which they are indoctrinated with evolutionary theories which seem to follow a logical flow of thoughts, a pragmatic world for that matter, they prefer to walk away from hypocrisy and blatant lies. It seems that there is more lust for worldly things in churches than there is outside. Members compete with one another, pledging money and testifying of or showing off their God-given wealth. They ignore verses that encourage contentment and modesty as well as the fact that most of their leaders are often divorced and in second, third and fourth adulterous marriages i.e. Chris Oyakhilome, Duncan Williams, etc.

The worst part is that in these churches are seemingly genuine people but they do not have a voice and when they are in financial/emotional need, they are always offered prayer and never assisted. Perhaps God should miraculously put food in their mouths and clothing on their backs I suppose? That is whilst the pastors pass the chip and pin around.
Until next time, let us share and grow.

'How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.' - Luke 6 vs 42.

 

Why have @Africaindiaspo kids turned away from Christianity? - Part 1

Growing up in the motherland I observed how religion underpinned much of life, from praying before meals, praying before/after travelling to praying and singing at weddings, funerals and of course religious gatherings. Christianity was and still is the widely-held belief in Zimbabwe and the religion I have been exposed to, thus it makes sense for it to be the only one I comment on.

 

As a youngster church attendance was not optional, no. In fact even as a young adult staying at home (here in the diaspora) with my parents it remained a compulsory family ritual to the extent that I felt really bad if I ever missed a Sunday service. One could say I was deeply religious at the time and when people at school asked me what my beliefs were I would often respond, ‘Pentecostal Christian’ without any hesitation at all although my ‘lifestyle’ reflected no semblance of my professed faith. It was only when I got a little older and started to develop my own understanding of life, holding what the bible says against church practices, that I realised not only how hypocritical I was but also how overwhelmingly hypocritical the majority of @Africanindiaspo Christians and churches were. I realised then why Christianity did not appeal to me and many of the @Africanindiaspos who were my age at the time.

 

You see children in Africa, just like African adults interact with national politicians; do not ask any questions that challenge the status quo as such insubordination can lead to serious disciplinary action. Consequentially, African children (and in some instances adults) typically do not appear to have minds of their own, that is how a grown man’s parents can influence him to leave his spouse for another more suitable/subservient woman – a woman they prefer really. Am I lying? Au contraire (on the contrary), western and @Africanindiaspo children raised in the diaspora are taught to question everything that they are taught by their parents, although they never seem to question the evolutionary theories and propagandised fallacies drummed into their heads from a young age. I personally feel a balance is critical but where is Kermit when you need him?

 

Nonetheless this critical mind-set of @Africanindiaspo children is something that many parents have not made adjustments to accommodate. Whilst many of us who grew up as Christians in the Motherland found it easy to believe that Jesus was born of a virgin mother, was the Son of God and that He resurrected from the dead, these are facts that your typical @Africanindiaspo descendant just cannot understand (How I could just kill a man, lol). The lack of empirical evidence combined with the fact that it just doesn’t sound plausible makes the bible/anything written in it sound like folklore. I suppose faith is difficult to possess when you have never needed to trust God for your next meal or the healing of a loved one, only the national health system and evolutionary theories (not facts) from a man just like you and I.

 

Whilst the factors mentioned above are worthy of consideration, I believe hypocrisy is really the stroke that breaks the camel’s backs for most children and for the purpose of this post I will stick to hypocrisy in the home. I have found Christianity amongst @Africanindiaspos and even amongst our brothers and sisters in the Motherland to be centred primarily on church and/or bible study attendance and long prayers which are preferably made in incomprehensible tongues. Insofar as these conditions are met one is considered a bona fide believer worthy of much commendation in the church. Oh silly me I forgot to mention that they must give their tithe faithfully, of course, lest they attract a curse from God then they are a bona fide, hell-raising Christian. Of course it does not matter how this believer conducts him/herself in their home and this is when the stumbling block for children is mounted in my opinion.

 

Many faithless @Africanindiaspos youths struggle to reconcile bible verses of how men should love their wives and be patient with them when their church-esteemed fathers are drunkards, overbearing, money-hungry, short-tempered and even at times physically abusive to their mothers. Even worse some struggle to understand how their fathers can be observed as elders/deacons in the church when they are players, yes some of these men even engage in adulterous affairs, despite public knowledge of their deeds. In other instances some youths also fail to reconcile their mothers’ inabilities to submit to their fathers or their strong-willed behaviour against them with the verses in the bible about how women should respect and submit to their husbands and should love and raise their children. This is especially true as many of these children often feel neglected by the very same church uniform-wearing mothers who possess very little dignity and are serious gossips and slanderers, etc.

 

My dear reader, if you have been around @Africanindiaspo families, have you seen parents treating their children with the love, gentleness and kindness (that the bible they believe teaches)? In my experience, I have not seen this; instead I have seen parents relentlessly shaming their children and stripping them of all dignity - even in front of people. This does not win souls, it destroys and hardens hearts. According to the bible that I grew up being taught to believe the family (children) is the second, most important institution for mankind after marriage. Therefore, before @Africanindiaspos who believe in Jesus tout their religion to their ‘lost’ Western friends, how about they take the bible seriously and authenticate its message by actually living out what they believe and raise children who are convinced of their fruit. How about they teach their children the word and pray with them every day rather than leaving that responsibility to the Sunday school teachers. I think that only after doing that can any good news they have make sense to anyone else.

 

Hopefully in Part 2 of this post I will focus on the hypocrisy of the church, which according to the bible is the 3^rd most important institution for mankind, and how the hypocrisy that exists in it contributes to these ‘wayward’ children that many @Africanindiaspo parents are ashamed of.

 

Until then, let us share let us grow!

 

‘Children are the mirrors of the homes, communities and societies they are nurtured or abandoned in’ - @Africanindiaspo

Zimbabwean child swears at his mother, is he to blame?

Recently there has been a viral video (link to video: http://nehandatv.com/2015/06/07/spoilt-rotten-zimbo-kid-cursing-at-parent) making the circles of social media of a young black boy with a Zimbabwean mother it seems, and he was going off at her as well as his aunt for calling him into the house when he still wanted to be out playing with his friends late into the night. I understand that I am a little late to the ‘trending’ party but I feel as though I should express my opinion about this video as it is closer to home (being that I am Zimbabwean myself). I believe it is an incident many of us can take lessons from as it could easily become a recurrent theme amongst the @Africanindiaspo communities though I feel it is already more common than people care to believe.

 

Off the bat I must ask the questions, who recorded that video and why? How did it go from the device it was recorded on to being viral? There were two adult women who were present in that predicament and one of them recorded the debased ordeal. I find that disgusting and that should be more shocking to everyone who watches the video than any behaviour that the child displayed.

 

I believe that a child’s behaviour is mostly reflective of the upbringing and instruction he/she has had. Of course children are innately mischievous and that cannot be helped but not to the extent displayed by that little boy. Did anyone notice that as he was cursing out (and having his little tantrum) he was actually playing on an iPhone? I have found this to be a common trend amongst both African and British parents here in the UK - that is to give their children unfettered access to the internet. The diaspora-born child of your typical @Africanindiaspo is bombarded with sexual images from birth on TV and hears all sorts of explicit words in public, to give them unrestricted access to the internet at a tender age is to pour fuel to the fire. That means pornography and even more debased language is a click of a button away and many parents are making this mistake. I do not believe it is intentional but it is being made all the same. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many @Africanindiaspo parents do not sit down with their kids to find out what is going on in their minds so they can deconstruct any build-up of western beliefs or ideas. Your typical @Africanindiaspo actually raises their child as though they were in Africa where there is very little swearing and sexualisation of men and women in the mainstream media and society. It is no wonder that even our religious beliefs are no longer palatable to children being born and raised in the diaspora, we are not taking the time to find out where they are at.

 

Another weird but prevalent phenomenon common amongst many of the @Africanindiaspo is this deep-seeded inferiority complex whereby many African parents are really proud to have their kids as removed from African culture as possible. Many love the fact that their child cannot speak their native language (which they never bothered to teach the child) and are even more elated to say things like ‘my child is the only black child at his/her school’. No word of a lie. It is no wonder then that children such as that young boy end up saying they have no affiliations with the motherland as they identify it as archaic and disease-ridden - just as the propagandised images show Africa to be.

 

There are serious conflicting thoughts going on in the minds of descendants of any @Africanindiaspo. At one juncture they are exposed to African values and culture with relatives and within religious communities which their parents do not teach them to value on a daily basis, at another juncture they are exposed to extreme Western ideologies and behaviours on a more consistent basis (i.e. in school and with friends) which their parents do not want them to fully adapt once more. It seems the Western ways typically prevail as these kids end up being more extreme than their Western counterparts due to their desperate need to receive approval within at least one group of people. @Africanindiaspo parents end up extremely disillusioned as their children become rebellious and they genuinely wonder why.

 

I must express this to my beloved @Africanindiaspo brothers and sisters living in the UK - if it possible for you to pay a little more in rental premiums or spend more on a mortgage to live in a safer neighbourhood then please do so if you have children. Whilst high-density urban areas in Africa are populated with well-mannered and responsible people, in the UK areas with cheaper accommodation are often populated with rough and substance-abusing individuals who often raise poor-mannered children which will inevitably school with your children and possibly be their friends.

 

Now this is where I turn into a chauvinist I suppose by asking where is the father of this boy? Where are the fathers of many of the children of @Africanindiaspo mothers? It seems many of my beloved sisters have traded the truth that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ for the lie that ‘girls run the world’. Sisters you cannot raise children, especially sons, without the presence of a male authoritarian figure. As a child growing up whenever I misbehaved my mother would say ‘I am going to tell your father’, and that would calm me right down. In the absence of a father, sisters please have brothers in your lives to have that influence over your sons and daughters. It will do more good than harm.

 

Finally, to the woman who called the ordeal with that child nonsense, you are the problem with children growing up in the diaspora. You did not diffuse the situation, you worsened it and you are the reason many children are embittered with their parents.

 

Until next time beloved, let us share, let us grow.

 

‘Children’s behaviours and attitudes are like mirrors that reflect the investment or lack thereof made into their lives by those charged with their guardianship’ - @Africanindiaspo

2015 the age of the mindless fashionistas and inexperienced philosophers

I was on the bus the other day, minding my own business, when from the corner of my eye I saw something that crushed my heart. I saw a young black male wearing the tightest pair of jeans I have ever seen on a man and it struck me – this is our future.

 

You see growing up in Africa fashion was not something that men expended too many efforts on. No! Men were more consumed with discussing politics, pursuing education (through books and academic institutions) as well as working hard to provide for extended families. My friends and I never seemed to care much about fashion either whilst growing up in these societies. Yes we liked to have the latest basketball sneakers and some cool clothes for the times we would go and hang out at the malls but our ultimate goals were to exhibit prowess on the sports fields whether it was playing rugby, soccer, basketball, cricket, etc. We were also under immense pressure from our parents to obtain good grades and pursue high-flying careers in the corporate world which many of us have done as much as opportunity was afforded to us.

 

This does not seem to be the mind-set of my many dear young black brothers over here in the diaspora; they are typically not focused on their academics and are quite effeminate. I wish I could say exactly why things are so. It might be partly because many of them were latch-key kids, i.e. they stayed at home alone whilst their parents were at work and thus did not have much supervision and/or instruction. They are the generation that has raised itself (hmm sounds like another post idea). I digress. Perhaps it is because their parents have not held them to account because they did not directly pay for any of the education they received – primary and secondary education is free in the United Kingdom you see.

 

Young black immigrant males seem to be focused on fashion instead, these young men are all about the Versace (Versace!) and it is when you engage them in conversation that you realise that they have very little to talk about, they do not have independent minds or opinions about much of what affects their existence. Similarly, although women are expected to take greater care in their appearance than men as such have been the societal norms since times past, many young black women in the diaspora seem to have all become fashion bloggers very suddenly and without much notice. They too are typically mentally shallow and devoid of any aspirations to learn and develop their mind or soul. They have that weave on fleek though (LOL I’m just a hater).

 

The advent of low-cost good-quality retailers such as Primark has allowed individuals to be photo-shoot fresh on a daily basis and at very low costs for that matter. This has given many of our young men and women the confidence to be professional outfit co-ordinators on social media and some have earned decent money from it too – hats off to them (no pun intended). However, they have not invested in their minds thus the title – mindless fashionistas. Many of the values, morals and culture that formed responsible adults out of the Africans born in the 80s and beyond have evaded this generation of mindless fashionistas and yet they seem to have dual careers. They are also part-time philosophers.

 

Yes my dear @Africanindiaspo the emergent generation of young adults from the motherland living in the diaspora, with their very little life experience and even fewer achievements except maybe losing some excess weight, is unapologetically philosophical. They will get behind a camera and teach their age mates about how important it is for them to be happy at any cost. Although they have done absolutely nothing to better themselves as individuals they will post or watch videos on the type of guy that they should have and how he ought to treat them (entitlement?). I mean the other day I stumbled upon one such video, a young black lady was teaching others about how it is important to not be worried about your boyfriend leaving a mess in the house and how women should suppress their natural inclination to have a tidy house, etc. This particular young lady has even more videos on self-confidence. She cannot be more than 25 years old and here she is spewing ‘wisdom’ to young impressionable girls who are the future of tomorrow. All I could think is how simple and idealistic the minds of our brothers and sisters are being programmed to become by people who still have milk on their noses (they are yet to discover what life is all about as they are still babies).

 

Now I myself am not that old and I do not by any means wish to give off the impression that I have full knowledge about life, ha that would be the biggest lie ever told. However, I have come to appreciate the wisdom that lies in the grey hairs of those older than me and wish that my young brothers and sisters could put their interest in fashion and philosophy aside and sit at the feet of their parents, older relatives or any other mature adults they have access to.

 

Perhaps I am not hip to the times? Perhaps I am bitter because I am not fashionable but how about the typical @Africanindiaspo looks to have their brain and knowledge of self on fleek more than they seek to look good and babble about life which they know nothing of. After all it used to be intellectuals that used to philosophise in times gone by.

 

Until next time, let us share let us grow.

‘The youth of today must acknowledge that they are the future of tomorrow and must therefore hold themselves to serious account for their deeds and misdeeds’ - @Africanindiaspo